For the last five years the COC has eld a week long intensive workshop/coaching session for a select group of early career singers and collaborative pianists. The week concludes with a “Showcase” concert in the Jackman Studio which happened this year early on Saturday evening. There were ten singers and two pianists with each singer giving us one aria.

First up was mezzo Daria Kharchenko (pictured) with “Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein” from Die Fledermaus. She made a very appealing Orlovsky. Vocally, she played around just enough while keeping things musical and not too OTT. Her physical acting was in the same mould. She was genuinely funny and I could definitely see her in this role on stage.

Baritone Braylon Belanger sang a very stylish “Vision fugitive” from Massenet’s Hérodiade though it could have used a bit more physical and/or vocal expressiveness. It was rather the opposite with soprano Sloan Smith and “Take me back” from Rorem’s “Our Town”. It was powerfully sung and it is, to be fair, a very emotional aria but I think in a small space like the Jackman Studio a more restrained approach might have worked better. Tenor Kiho Sohn gave us a pretty standard version of “Il mio tesoro intanto”.

Next up was my favourite opera Massenet’s Werther (just kidding). No complaints though about mezzo Stella-Rose Martin’s accurate, powerful and nicely characterised account of “Va! laisse couler mes larmes”. The same could be said for soprano Sherrie Spelchuk’s “Un bel di vedremo”. This was notable for drama, very clean top notes and great control. Good stuff!

Tenor Nicholas Kluftinger gave us Fenton’s aria “Dal labbro il canto estasiato vola” from Verdi’s Falstaff. This was properly Italianate tenoring infused with a real sense that we were listening to a young man in love. Sometimes you don’t need to raise the roof! Next up was another young man’s aria; Smeaton’s “Ah! parea che per l’incanto” from Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. This one is for mezzo or contralto of course and it really suited Briana Sutherland’s rather dark voice. She also had plenty of power and proper bel canto style.

Wagner’s “O du, mein holder Abendstern” is something of a baritone showpiece. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it in competitions! Neil Hong (pictured) sang with passion and considerable beauty of tone. He has quite a rich voice which suited this music well. Finally, soprano Alina Tigelman with more Massenet. This time it was “Je marche sur tous les chemins” from Manon. This was powerfully and very stylishly sung. She has all the notes and a very clean upper register. A nice way to finish!

Accompaniment throughout was provided by the highly competent pair of Cecilia Nguyen Tran and Natalia Sawyer. There aren’t too many song recitals in Toronto in August and so this is one to watch out for.

Photo credit: Karen E. Reeves